No regen ‘for the foreseeable future' in West Openshaw

A DISGRUNTLED group of residents have been left heartbroken and feel abandoned by regeneration bosses in Openshaw. With the £65 million regeneration scheme of the Toxteth Street neighbourhood well underway on their doorstep, residents on Hovis Street in west Openshaw feel left behind after years of broken promises.

Forgotten? Gordon and Lynne Whitfield outside their house in Hovis Street, Openshaw, with Anne O’Connor.

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A DISGRUNTLED group of residents have been left heartbroken and feel abandoned by regeneration bosses in Openshaw.

With the £65 million regeneration scheme of the Toxteth Street neighbourhood well underway on their doorstep, residents on Hovis Street in west Openshaw feel left behind after years of broken promises.

Retired couple Gordon and Lynne Whitfield, have lived in their terraced house for more than 30 years and feel let down by the lack of work which is happening in their area.

Lynne, 62, said: "We started a steering group nearly 20 years ago when all this started and they said they were going to regenerate the area - that group no longer exists and nothing has been done.

"We own our house and we are retired so we won’t be able to get a mortgage on a new house so we are stuck here.

"The houses and the roads around here need some serious work but nothing is being done and we have just been left out.

"It's hard to see other parts of Openshaw being regenerated and money being spent on making the area nice when we have been waiting for years."

Vital repair work needs to be done to the road and pavements after years of neglect, as well as home repairs, such as new windows, central heating and garden walls.

Gordon, 70, said: "The back wall is falling down, we have a huge crack in our back window and our heating system is on its last legs.

"We have had it priced up and it will cost us thousands. But we don't know whether there is any point if work suddenly starts in the area, then we would have wasted that money.

"We have asked why nothing has been done and we've been told simply that they have run out of money. But where does that leave us?"

Earlier this year the new £16m Greggs' bakery on nearby Parkhouse Street was completed providing more than 300 jobs and on the same street the local park was given a makeover for local children to use.

Anne O'Connor, 57, of Elysian Street, said: "It's very nice that the park has been refurbished and that there is a new bakery - but this doesn't help us.

"Our children have all grown up and left so these don't effect us.

"We just want to know where we stand, it feels like we are the forgotten part of Openshaw.

In response Eddie Smith, chief executive of New East Manchester said: "We can sympathise with the residents in Openshaw West and recognise that regeneration in this part of east Manchester has moved more slowly than any of us would wish.

"Work was done quite some time ago on possible options to improve the area. However, current market conditions, alongside reduced available funding, has meant that plans have had to be put on hold and there are no plans for the foreseeable future for any demolitions in the area.

"Regeneration investment has already been made into traffic calming measures and improvements to the park and ensuring the area is well managed remains a priority."